PITTSBURGH – Father Patrick Rager, who as a newly ordained priest of the Pittsburgh Diocese served just two years in a parish assignment before a devastating illness forced him into a wheelchair and eventual paralysis, died July 20 at age 50.Read More

When St. Matthew, Northwood, parishioner Dorothy E. Alford is in need of a spiritual boost or a friend, this 95-year-old Idlewood resident contacts her ‘godparents.’ She is not praying to deceased family or friends who attended her baptism – but calling the two younger women who assisted in her conversion to Catholicism three years ago....Read More

Although the entire room calls Dorothy Dixon “Grandma,” she has no grandchildren. The 91-year-old soup kitchen coordinator answers to the pet name from some 100 community members who visit St. Cecilia, Baltimore, on Thursdays to eat a hot supper. The lively Ms. Dixon walks three blocks daily from her home that she shares with her...Read More

TERRYVILLE, Conn. – Holy Family Retreat Center in West Hartford, founded by the Passionist Fathers in 1951, is reaping the benefits of this high-tech era.Read More

Father Patrick Peyton, a Holy Cross priest whose popular radio and television programs promoted family prayer, is a step closer to sainthood.Read More

PHILADELPHIA – Who’s that you’re seeing on YouTube? Yes, it is really Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia. The cardinal is providing video reflections for each Sunday of Lent, as well as for Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter on the free, video-sharing Web site, which allows users to upload, view and share video clips. Once...Read More

WASHINGTON – Lack of federal funding could jeopardize therapeutic advances made in using umbilical cord blood for curing diseases, said Richard Doerflinger, deputy director of the U.S. bishops’ Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities. Doerflinger told Catholic News Service that the bishops supported the 2005 law which authorized funds for collecting and storing cord blood and for...Read More

One thing that I have noticed while visiting many of our churches is the lack of men in the congregation. This puzzled me to the point that I decided to ask several male associates what they did on Sunday morning. The answers ranged from washing the car to cutting the grass to just lying around...Read More